Ma Petite Lune
by Ferrous Flowey
Summary: [AU] Our plucky heroine Moonie isn't emotionally ready to go to Po Town and face Guzma's fearsome Golisopod, but she finds new strength in the unlikeliest of places... (Headcanon-heavy oneshot. May be expanded upon.)


She had to go to Po Town. On her own? The very thought terrified Moonie, who at first had simply viewed Team Skull as delinquent clowns. They couldn't do any damage - or so she thought. Her struggle against Enforcer Gladion's strange pokemon, Type: Null, had shown her otherwise, though, and Guzma's Golisopod had made short work of her Alakazam. She was deathly afraid of what was to come, especially since she had a hunch that the group was separating her from her friends due to sinister string-pulling from… _someone._ She couldn't be sure who.

Still, she couldn't turn a blind eye now, not when she'd come so far. She had a mission - a mission to finish what she'd started, so she had to go. Shaky breaths slowly steadied, and she started her walk down to the beach to find the 'man in a kimono' Acerola had said would help her.

As she approached the ocean, Moonie could make out a white-clad, black-haired figure, back turned to her. It was strange; something about the man's hair style was strange and familiar. Then it hit her. The only other person she knew who wore their hair like that was… her uncle.

 _Her dad's brother Grimsley, born in Kalos and living in Unova, had been a father figure to Moonie long after her birth father had left her life. He'd taught her card tricks and stage presence and how to flip a coin, and he listened to her sing and criticized her while teaching her what true criticism was. ( no matter how much she asked, he never taught her how to play poker. ) He was refined where her mother was rough around the edges, and Moonie looked up to both of them as role models. She loved her Uncle Grimm more than words could express. So when he became a member of the Elite 4, doomed to be holed up in that awful castle, of course she was crushed. Still, he called her every week, and it was as if he was still right there with her._

 _But then, one day, the calls stopped coming. In the midst of the whole Team Plasma business and the family's move to Kanto, all hope of reaching her uncle again was lost for Moonie. But if she ever saw him again, she knew exactly what she'd say. She wrote it down and rehearsed it many a time. And when she moved to Alola, she pinned the paper to her wall. But now…_

A snap back to the present, and Moonie realized she'd been staring at the back of this man's head the whole time. Swallowing her questions, she moved closer ( yep, that was definitely a kimono ) and tapped him on the shoulder. After a long pause, she reached up to do so again when he spoke. His voice shattered Moonie's heart before she even saw his face.

"Man oh _man._ What is going on today…?" It was him. It was Grimsley- and yet it wasn't. He sounded like all the life, all his happiness had been sucked out of him. He sounded like a shell of his former self, the one Moonie knew. "Someone actually bothered coming to this sad place?"

Moonie tried to say something, but her voice cut out. She couldn't bring herself to utter a word. Her eyes were wide and transfixed on this man who she'd cared for. The man who had vanished from her life without a trace some 3 years ago. It hurt. ( it hurt so much. )

"Well, no matter. I'll take you on. Keep you company." How empty his voice sounded, how devoid of drive and passion. How slumped were his shoulders, how low his head was hung. Something had shaken him to his very core, and he'd never recovered. He went quiet for a few moments, then glanced back over his shoulder for a split second. He didn't turn back fast enough to avoid being seen by Moonie. She winced at how dark the circles under his eyes were.

"Tell me." Silence.

"Uncle Grimsley is going to flip a coin." He was being facetious, but the waver in his voice was unmistakable. Did he not recognize her?

"Will it be heads or tails?"

Moonie couldn't bear it any longer. "Look at me, Uncle Grimm!" she cried out, tone desperate for answers. She needed him to realize who she was. She felt sick. She felt scared. She felt… lonely. That crushing loneliness that hit her when Grimsley first left.

Grimsley tensed in shock - that voice… it couldn't be. But slowly, he turned around, and he saw that it was indeed his young niece. Nobody else in the whole world called him that. And seeing the girl for real only confirmed his suspicions. He bit back the guilt, but it seeped into his voice regardless. "...Moonie? _Lune?_ "

Moonie had his attention. She could recite the monologue she'd rehearsed so many times, but in that moment, all of it left her head. All she could think of was how regretful he looked, how relieved she was to see him again. In that moment, her grievances vanished. She tried to hold on to her bitterness, but-

"You could have _called,_ dangit!" she yelled before barreling towards him, wrapping her arms around him so tight he could hardly breathe. Seeing his pained expression, she loosened her grip before burying her face in his shoulder. "I… I missed you so much…" she mumbled into his shirt, trying not to cry. This didn't feel real, it felt like some sort of dream - a nightmare turned brighter.

Grimsley weakly returned the embrace, letting her shout at him without protest. There was no reason to protest in the first place. His niece was right. "...I missed you too, _ma petite lune,_ " he murmured in response, and it was true. He still couldn't believe his good-for-nothing brother had helped create someone so bright and wonderful as Moonie, and Grimsley was so glad he did. He hugged her tighter, then let go, but kept a hold on her hand to assure her she wasn't dreaming. He was here. "Now, heads or tails?"

Moonie sniffled and paused to think. After a moment of internal debate, she looked up and gave Grimsley a sad smile. "Heads," she said, nodding to emphasize her point.

Grimsley nodded in turn, and flipped the coin with expert precision. Looking down at the side that faced up, he frowned… then smirked. It was almost like the old days. "...Astonishing."

" _You took a stab at it, like some kind of prophet. Right now, you and your Pokémon are shining brilliantly."_


End file.
